This invention relates generally to systems and methods for automatically filling bags, and more particularly to systems and methods for opening and filling mesh bags.
Systems for automatically bagging fresh fruits and vegetables are well-known. A typical system might include a mechanism for holding a supply of empty bags, a mechanism for individually opening the bags and supporting them while they are being filled, and a mechanism for directing a preweighed amount of produce into the bag. These mechanisms may be arranged in a variety of ways, but each mechanism will usually be found in an automatic bagging system. After filling, the individual bags are sealed and transported away for storage or shipment.
The major difficulty with automatic bagging systems has been the manipulation of individual bags, particularly the operation of opening the individual bags and suspending them prior to filling. Heretofore, mechanisms for opening the individual bags have typically employed vacuum or suction cups for attaching to one face of the bag and pulling it away from the opposed face. Such systems, although generally workable, are not always completely reliable, particularly when handling mesh bags which resist adherence by vacuum-assisted grasping means. It would therefore be desirable to provide alternate mechanisms for opening bags in automatic bagging systems and elsewhere. It would be particularly desirable to provide such bag opening systems which will function reliably with mesh bags.